Crap Part Deux

After I rushed to put up the last post and went to check the departures board, I was most unpleasantly surprised to find that my flight to Los Angeles has been delayed by an hour. That means I'll have to make an extra quick beeline through LAX to make my flight to San Jose. Though I'll still have over an hour and a half, anyone who's tried to clear customs at LAX knows that it's no walk in the park. Or even a pretty minefield at that. It's hell, as far as I'm concerned.

I'm parched and I'm hungry. But I only have £1.10 to my name. A bottle of water, or even a Fanta, costs £1.25 at the airport. The shops won't accept my credit card photocopy (and really, why should they?) and I have at least an hour before boarding.

You may be wondering how the hell I'm able to get on the internet. Well, Heathrow now has these access points that accept credit cards, not by swiping them, but by entering the info. So I've already charged 10 quid to these machines, just as a means to keep my sanity and keep my mind off my hunger and thirst for a little while longer. At least not all is lost.

Well, other than the fact that my phone is pretty much out of juice, and I need to call my dad and tell him NOT to pick me up at SFO this afternoon and to come collect me late at night at San Jose. Maybe some kind soul will lend me their phone, or at the very least, the battery from their Sony Ericsson phone.

Speaking of kind souls, I'd like to thank the three absolute, darling, beautiful angels who have been my lifeline during this final-day ordeal.

Elena: Thank you for being there in the middle of the night to check timetables, make internet bookings, and general moral support. Just don't keep using the credit card info I gave you. Please.

Sarah: Thank you, too, for your moral support and for the generous offer to wire money and get shit done from your end. I know you've had a few bumps on this trip as well, and I hope you get your luggage back soon. Bastards.

Emma: I hardly know you, but you really helped keep my sanity this morning, from the start of the drama in at the Prague Airport to those hopeful moments at the bus terminal at Stansted.

And thanks to everyone else who's made this trip the great odyssey that it's been. Amy, Eva, Briley, Jess, Mo, Carla, Pav, Jens, Mikkel, Michael, Ashley, Janelle, Rich, Mike, and countless other fellow travelers. I killed some time and reviewed all the great crap we did together over the last couple of weeks. The great times you all provided has helped put this hellaciously stressful day in perspective, reminding me that the trip as a whole, albeit bumpy in parts, has been an experience I wouldn't trade for the world.

A while back on TravelPunk someone asked the question, "Why do you travel?" I didn't put up a serious answer, because I couldn't come up with one. There are a multitude of reasons why I hop around the world at every opportunity. But just now it's hit me (yet again, as with every trip) that it's all the people. Sharing the wonders of new places with people from the world over, and getting these great glimpses of local culture that you'd never get watching the evening news or even a show on the Travel Channel. It's all about the people, and sharing the crazy nights, checking out the beautiful sights, and even toughing out the bad times.

I just looked at the departures board. It looks like my flight's going to be on time, after all.